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Just outside the Las Vegas area on Lake Mead is a ghost town which at one
time has quite allot of historical significance. I took interest in the town
many years ago but never had the opportunity to explore it on a deeper level up
until now.
The town was mapped and plotted by the Mormon People with orders from
Brigham Young so that goods could be exported onto the Colorado River nearby.
The Colorado River ran along the town site but it served as a connector to large
Mormon settlements such as Mount
Zion and Salt Lake City.
Two rivers met where St. Thomas was built the Muddy River and the Virgin.
Prior to the 11 men and 3 women who settled at the convergence under a man by
the name of Thomas S. Smith was said to be the site of an ancient Anasazi city.
The lost city eventually was swallowed up by waters and crumbled with the sands
of time.
Back in 1865 the land was much different for example trees and irrigation
lined the streets. The town had at least 500 Mormon settlers and around 80
families. Their was active farming and many businesses within the town. Its so
hard to believe when you walk around here now nothing remains but a few
foundations, wells and remnants. Cotton grown here was a huge commodity but
today their is not a single sign of its existence. The town also had a vineyard
and even an ice cream parlor.
Surrounding the town are sandstone cliffs and bluffs. When you take the
wagon road on into St. Thomas you have to park at the top of the bluffs and work
your way down into the town site. Today much brush and high grass consumes the
entire area. Not to mention the fact that in the rain season being caught below
the bluffs is not the place you want to be. Flash flooding can be deadly just
ask the settlers of Nelson when the entire port was washed away killing many of
its residents. A year after the town was built a post office was established but only a
year later Pah Ute County Arizona claimed the town as its county seat. Unfortunately the
Mormons had no established government thus had very control over what the state
did or didn't do. If you recall the Mormons fled to Utah because they were
banished from almost every other state back East. When St. Thomas was settled
the Mormons thought they were in Utah however that would change. In 1870 Nevada
did a land survey only to find that the town was not in UT nor AZ. Due to this
find the state of Nevada's Lincoln County demanded two years of back taxes. The Mormons refused to
pay and their was a vote whether to stay or abandoned the town. By 1870 to
about 1871 the residents abandoned their homes and things leaving for Utah.
Back in the day notices were posted on the doors it must had been unimaginable
for these families who found a home only to find out that they were forced out.
I am not of Mormon faith but I think its sad the way they were treated.
The gentiles took over the town claiming the belongings the settlers left
behind. Some just decided to just move on in all due to the factor they liked
what they saw. It would be like me exploring an abandoned house then telling my
family hey I found us a house and were going to live in it lol. However that
was not the case with one family called the Bonelli's who decided to stay
around. Daniel had a son the day the town was abandoned perhaps this is why he
chose to stay behind. Perhaps he felt their was some potential here as he took
over as the towns postmaster and lodging. He also established a ferry near the
town site and eventually was buried on one of the mesas overlooking the ferry
site. He was exhumed when Boulder Dam was built and moved to AZ to be next to
his wife. Allot of history to St. Thomas and its just little facts like these
that make the town site even more interesting to explore.
About 9 years after the abandonment of St. Thomas some of the Mormons
decided to move back here. The town really began to boom once again. The town
once again grew cotton and salt was exported to St. George. During WWI precious
metals were greatly needed so copper was shipped from here from the local mines.
The railroad was just a few miles away not to far from the present day St.
Thomas Cemetery believe it or not. However in the earlier 1900's another short
railroad line was installed making St. Thomas a freight stop.
Tourism was also a major business for St. Thomas as some adventurist
traveled the Arrowhead trail which ended here. When tourist came to the town the
hotel business boomed. Some towns base their economy on the hotel business look
at Jamaica without the tourist the towns would die same concept. The first
automobile came to the area in 1914 which would be used at the local mine.
Another interesting fact is Wooly, Lund and Judd purchased some of the
fields surrounding the town. If you are not aware Lund and his partners ran a
mercantile company in Modena Utah.
I was lucky enough to visit Modena and visit the hotel that was built there. However the mercantile company in St.
Thomas no longer stands but the name Lund was a big name around NV and UT.
Prior to the towns demise their were six major businesses by the names of
the Gentry's Store, R Hanning Grocery Store, Gentrey's Hotel, William Sellers
Cafe with a '' Tourist'' line of groceries, Howell Garage, and Rox Whitmore meat
Market. After WWI the town would thrive and residents lived here happily.
However this all would change with the building of the Boulder Dam (Some sites suggest it was Hoover Dam) water
from Lake Mead soon would cause the town to succumb to the flooding of the
valley that St. Thomas resided in. Most of the residents would relocate just a
matter of miles to the large town of Overton. Nothing could be done nobody could
control the flood waters and nobody knew what would occur after the dam was
built. I remember reading a story that in 1838 water was creeping up right at
the doorway to the post office. The water started rising just a couple years after the dam project in 1932 proof of this is the St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery in 1935 was relocated due to rising waters.
The underwater city would not be seen again till the 1950's to the great
drought however once again rains came and this ghost town would not emerge for
another 50 years. Since 2002 the ghost town is slowly becoming exposed due to
the fact that lake meads waters have been receding. More then likely some
theorize that overtime lake mead will completely or eventually dry out maybe
exposing even more historic sites such as these.
Today if you were to walk around St. Thomas you would see some tree stumps
from the old cottonwood trees. One house I explored was buried in hard mud. When
I say buried I mean that the house was buried at least 6 feet deep. The old ice
cream parlor barely stands and in some locations you can see neatly laid out
foundations where once trees grew around them. Many of the overgrown paths lead
to old bricks and troughs. Their are water a few wells which will show you below
and even tools laying around rusting away. If you look good enough you can find
old broken glass. Everything else has been consumed by mud or all artifacts
sadly been removed.
As far as the paranormal nothing to out of the ordinary occurred here but I
am not opposed ruling out any sort of ghostly activity. I wish to see this
location preserved and it is a historic site your allowed to hike around in. I
think my first visit here was amazing as we hiked through tall grass on a breezy
night as lightening lit the skies for hours on end illuminating the
foundations.
Copyright
Lord Rick Author - Producer - Talk Show Host Founder                  Above: Team Shots Dinner Included Prior To This Special Location        Above: Harsh Terrain Surround St. Thomas At Night One Can Easily Get Lost                             Above: Foundations Among The Dry Lake Beds      Above: Ice cream anyone? THE PARLOR at one time was completely submerged under Lake Mead         Above: Remnants Of The Past  Above: Due to the water receding new life is born
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